It's no secret that there's some love between Arcade Fire and Bruce Springsteen. A couple of years back, for instance, Arcade Fire band leaders Win Butler and Regine Chassagne jumped onstage in Ottawa to bash out a version of their song "Keep the Car Running," along with the Boss and his E. Street Band. Also, Butler's working-class quiver can occasionally come across Springsteen-esque, transporting the group from The Suburbs straight into the Boss's badlands. With that in mind, discovering a list of Butler's favourite songs from New Jersey's finest son should come as no surprise.
The list is part of Rolling Stone's The Playlist Special, which has a host of musicians selecting a number of special songs to check out. Ozzy Osbourne, for example, waxed on the best Beatles tunes, while Foo Fighters main man Dave Grohl pointed to some killer '80s hardcore jams. For his contribution, Butler has gathered his top picks for a Springsteen playlist.
"This Bruce Springsteen list is a mix of his pop and not-pop songs," Butler told Rolling Stone. "But I got into his albums in random order. I heard 'Born in the U.S.A.' on the radio when I was a kid. But it was after I moved to Montreal that I got into Bruce. It was the energy in Born to Run. Brendan Reed, who played drums in the original lineup of Arcade Fire, had that album. I'd heard Bruce's music before, but I had never heard that record as a record."
Check out Butler's picks below in descending order and head here to read some of his short descriptions of each song.
14. "The Rising" (2000)
13. "Badlands" (1978)
12. "Born To Run" (1975)
11. "Thunder Road" (1975)
10. "Galveston Bay" (1995)
9. "Streets of Philadelphia" (1994)
8. "Tougher Than the Rest" (1987)
7. "Dancing in the Dark" (1984)
6. "I'm on Fire" (1984)
5. "Highway Patrolman" (1982)
4. "State Trooper" (1982)
3. "Atlantic City" (1982)
2. "Nebraska" (1982)
1. "Two Hearts" (1980)
The list is part of Rolling Stone's The Playlist Special, which has a host of musicians selecting a number of special songs to check out. Ozzy Osbourne, for example, waxed on the best Beatles tunes, while Foo Fighters main man Dave Grohl pointed to some killer '80s hardcore jams. For his contribution, Butler has gathered his top picks for a Springsteen playlist.
"This Bruce Springsteen list is a mix of his pop and not-pop songs," Butler told Rolling Stone. "But I got into his albums in random order. I heard 'Born in the U.S.A.' on the radio when I was a kid. But it was after I moved to Montreal that I got into Bruce. It was the energy in Born to Run. Brendan Reed, who played drums in the original lineup of Arcade Fire, had that album. I'd heard Bruce's music before, but I had never heard that record as a record."
Check out Butler's picks below in descending order and head here to read some of his short descriptions of each song.
14. "The Rising" (2000)
13. "Badlands" (1978)
12. "Born To Run" (1975)
11. "Thunder Road" (1975)
10. "Galveston Bay" (1995)
9. "Streets of Philadelphia" (1994)
8. "Tougher Than the Rest" (1987)
7. "Dancing in the Dark" (1984)
6. "I'm on Fire" (1984)
5. "Highway Patrolman" (1982)
4. "State Trooper" (1982)
3. "Atlantic City" (1982)
2. "Nebraska" (1982)
1. "Two Hearts" (1980)
